


traces of red

by dcuros



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Established Relationship, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-15 00:59:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18488044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dcuros/pseuds/dcuros
Summary: Akechi Goro was used to working late nights, and November 20th is no different.





	traces of red

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Lex](https://twitter.com/Cosmickatsu) for the ShuAke Hell server's anniversary exchange.

Akechi Goro was no stranger to late nights. His job _was_ demanding after all; sudden phone calls that lead to nights hunched over piles of paperwork, slowly pecking away at his laptop’s tiny keyboard until his back creaked. It took a certain amount of dedication to last years on the job, but Akechi Goro was nothing if not dedicated.

The building was insulated, and he could feel the steady thrum of the heating system through the soles of his loafers as he greeted the guard by the door. But the bitter chill of November clung to his skin under his coat as he walked through the hallways leading to his destination.

The room was dark when he entered.

Squinting, Goro could make out the vague outline of a table and the dark shape of a young man seated behind it. His shoulders were tense as he leaned heavily on his arms, and he looked ready to tip over. The faint flickers of light traced an outline of red and orange around his dark blazer, around the wild curls that fell over his handsome face and over the long lashes that framed his lidded grey eyes.

Goro’s breath hitched. Akira was radiant even in the shadows. He could feel his heart pound harder and his hands sweat under his leather gloves. He clicked the door shut and moved closer.

He greeted the other man and received silence in return. Nothing seemed to register through Akira’s daze; the other man’s eyes remained glassy and unfocused despite Goro’s rambling.

_BANG!_

Time seemed to move in slow motion, and Goro watched as gravity finally won its battle and slammed Akira down onto the table, making it rattle from the force of the impact. A stream of red spread out into a puddle over its surface, inching closer and closer to edge.

_Drip. Drip._

A groan of pain came from the body on the table, breaking Goro out of his stupor enough for him to flick the lights on. The body sat up and blinked bleary eyes up at him.

“You’re late,” Akira grumbled. His nose wrinkled in disgust at the streaks of red that flowed from his soaked bangs and down his face. He grabbed a table napkin and started dabbing it onto his hair, wincing as he accidentally poked at the reddening spot on his forehead. There must have been something in Goro’s expression that caused his brow to raise in concern.

“Hey, is everything alright?”

A small shake of his head dispelled most of the fog that smothered his thoughts, and Goro took the napkin from his hands, taking care to peel off his gloves beforehand— the leather  _ was  _ expensive, after all, and Akira had gifted him this particular pair— and gently ran the cloth down Akira’s face. His heart skipped when the other man closed his eyes and leaned against his touch. Overwhelmed, he couldn’t help planting a light peck on Akira’s lips before he licked at a drop of red right on the edge of those beautiful lips and savoured the fruity bitterness the wine left on his tongue.

“I-I’m fine. I apologize... I had to follow up on a couple of cases before I left and it ran on much longer than I anticipated,” he said. He pressed the red-stained cloth back onto Akira’s hands and eyed the wine glasses that had tipped over when the other man’s face collided with the table; their contents had spilled all over the dark wood of their dining table. Thankfully, the bottle of red, half-empty, had managed to stay upright. “I see you started without me?”

“It’s been a long day,” Akira said, face still skeptical. “One I wanted to end with a nice dinner and a long cuddle session with my boyfriend. You said you’d be home early today, Goro.” He tossed the napkin back at Goro.

“You’re cleaning that up by the way.”

Goro winced, but he started wiping down the table, employing the other unused napkin to soak up the mess that dripped down onto the floor before they seeped into the wood.

It was rare for Akira to get angry, but Akira was only human. Even his near-infinite well patience was bound to dry up sooner or later, and Goro could admit that he hadn’t been the easiest to be around lately.

“I’m sorry...” he said again once everything had been washed and put away. He joined his lover, who had collapsed on the couch, while he set down the wine bottle on the coffee table and handed Akira one of the plates he had balanced on his arm— the years had not graced Goro with the same level of culinary talent as his boyfriend, but he was more than capable of reheating the food without burning down the apartment.  

“No... I get it, Goro. Those kids are important to you, given what you’ve been through,” Akira sighed. “It’s just… you need to give yourself a break. You’ve been running yourself ragged all week, you know.”

“It’s not that! “Goro exclaimed. “Just… seeing you on that table, I— I really was just about to go home this afternoon… but then I remembered the date today...” He trailed off, gaze firmly planted on the carpet. “I suddenly felt that I wasn’t doing enough. That I still haven’t made up for what I did all those years ago. For what I did to you. So, I...”

“So you threw yourself back into work,” Akira finished. “Is this how you’ve been feeling this entire week?”

“....”

Taking Goro’s silence as confirmation, he carefully set their food onto the coffee table before he gathered his lover into his arms, carding his fingers through his soft brown hair. “You’ve already done so much. You helped saved Japan from Shido’s rule, you helped us save the world from that asshole god, and everyday, you’ve been helping kids in the institutions just so they don’t experience the same pain you did.”

“But—”

Akira shushed him. “It hasn’t been a good day for me either, you know. I remember back then… I thought I was going to die right there in that interrogation room, even before you came in. I thought those cops were ready to kill me. And you know how long it took me to even look at a needle after that,” Akira grimaced, shuddering a little. “But... I still think something good came out of that.”

Goro scoffed, squirming out of Akira’s grasp, “Something good? You had two near-death experiences and long-lasting trauma and you still say something good came out of _that_?”

“I met the real you, didn’t I?” Akira grinned. “Or the part of you that you kept hidden under that charming smile you flash at the cameras. I felt like I finally met all of you, both the good and the bad. I’d like to think of today as… an anniversary of sorts. Of when we first met.”

While Goro sat still and slack-jawed, looking at him incredulously, Akira took the chance to flick off the lights again. He lit the candles that adorned the coffee table and poured out two glasses of wine for the two of them.

“Hey,” said Akira, taking Goro’s hands in his. “It might sound kind of dumb to you, but I want to celebrate today. And maybe someday, if we do this long enough, we can chase out all those bad memories of yours with something better.” He pressed their lips together, relishing in the warmth of Goro’s soft lips until he felt him relax against him. “Just like that. What do you say?”

Goro sighed against Akira’s lips and kissed him again, but not before saying, “A strange proposal... but one I don’t mind testing out.” He pulled back and smiled, “Happy anniversary, Akira.”

“Happy anniversary, Goro. I’m glad that I met you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Yell at me in the comments or on my twitter [@hereliesandy](https://twitter.com/hereliesandy).


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